A total of 39 bowlers competed in the 15th annual Keystone Classic bowling tournament held at the Keystone Social Club in Hamburg on Dec. 8, 9, 10 and 17.
Each competitor chose one day to bowl their three games. Their three-game total plus handicap determined their tournament standings. There were daily and tournament-long prizes up for grabs.
With a total score of 752, Brian Grugan won the title of 2023 Tournament Champion.
“Grugan bowled on day two of the tournament. The bar had already been set high by Mark Brown who rolled a 737 on the first day of competition. It would be no easy task for anyone to surpass that score,” Keystone Classic tournament director Scott Kreider said in the announcement.
“Grugan’s first two games were not bad, but a third game of that level would not give him enough to overtake the lead from Brown,” he continued. “Grugan, a southpaw, threw a spectacular game of 279 in his last game with 11 strikes, just one strike shy of a perfect 300 game.”
That game gave him a total of 752 to take the lead.
“But there were still two more days of bowling left in this singles handicap event,” Kreider said.
Matt Schlegel bowled on day three, where he bowled consistently.
“Going into the 10th frame of his last game, Schlegel still had a chance to gain possession of first place. He would need the first two strikes in his final frame,” Kreider said.
Schlegel got the first one, but left a single pin on his second ball to fall short of Grugan, posting a 748 score putting him in second place with one day of bowling remaining.
“On that final day Dwight Lesher took a stab at the lead. He decided to use his brothers’ bowling ball,” Kreider said. “He was very successful in this change but not enough, ending up placing fourth with a 704 total score.”
Staying in the lead, Brian Grugan won the tournament with a total score of 752.
The Keystone Social Club has a long history of bowling dating back to the 1920s.
“Andy Varipapa, bowling great and trick shot artist appeared there in 1936 for an exhibition and challenge match against club members,” Kreider said.
There are only two lanes. The club used pin boys until 1974 when automatic pinsetters were installed.
Over the last seven years, the club started using a lane oiling machine to apply lane conditioner to the lane surface. Previously the lanes were oiled by hand using an insecticide sprayer.
The old-fashioned method has produced four perfect 300 games rolled by Harry Casper, Dwight Heckman, Scott Kreider and Brian Gerner. Bobby Heffner scored a 300 in January 2015 on the newer application method. Harry Casper’s 300 was bowled more than 80 years ago in 1942.
The lanes were resurfaced in April 2022 which is regular maintenance of wood lanes. This has improved scores tremendously, Kreider said.
Kreider invites any member to sign up for next year’s Keystone Classic bowling tournament scheduled to be held Dec. 6 to 8, 2024.
Source: Berkshire mont